Payload Research: Detailing Launch Startup Funding
The next few years are make or break for launch startups—either achieve orbit and scale or go the way of Astra and Virgin Orbit.
Jack Kuhr
Astroscale Sees its Debris
Astroscale has hunted down its targeted space debris and is now within paparazzi distance.
Astranis Reveals Higher Capacity GEO Broadband Satellite
Astranis, a satcom startup, unveiled its Omega micro GEO broadband satellite platform yesterday, designed to offer five times the power of its first-generation models.
Thales Alenia Space Signs $567M ExoMars 2028 Contract
Europe’s Mars rover mission is getting a new lease on life.
Russia Approves New Space Station Designs as it Seeks to Maintain Human Presence in LEO
Russia approved the initial designs for the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) earlier this week, revealing new details as the Kremlin prepares for life in space post-ISS.
Payload Research: Q1 Space Industry via Charts
The first three months of 2024 was another busy year for the space industry, underscored by continued growth in SpaceX’s launch cadence and a solid VC funding environment. Below are the four charts defining the quarter.
The State of Earth Observation
The Earth observation market is refocusing efforts on profitability, government funding, and addressing niche issues, as commercial demand has not yet materialized to the extent many anticipated.
Canadian Government to Back Telesat With $1.6B Loan
Telesat ($TSAT), a Canadian satcom provider, announced it received a loan proposal of $2.1B CAD ($1.6B) from the Canadian government to help finance its 198-bird Lightspeed LEO constellation.
ispace Raises $53.5M for Future Lunar Landers
Japanese lunar lander startup ispace has raised $8.1B yen ($53.5M) in a stock sale to help fund its third spacecraft.
Inside NASA’s SBIR Phase III Program, By The Numbers: Payload Research
NASA’s SBIR funding—particularly its Phase I & II tracks—has become a vital source of non-dilutive capital for early-stage space startups. At the same time, it has gained a reputation for coming up short in delivering on its larger Phase III programmatic contracts, leaving companies to navigate the “valley of death.”
Texas Unveils its Space Commission, Names Board
The Texas Space Commission announced its inaugural board of directors yesterday at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, which includes a who’s who of industry and academia.
Intuitive Machines Reports a Moon Cash Boon
Touchdown on the Moon, collect millions of dollars—that’s how Monopoly, space edition is played. We don’t make the rules.